About Me

Three years ago, I felt the air deflate from my lungs when a caring orthopedic doctor suggested that I may have a form of inflammatory arthritis. Passionate about exercising and enjoying an active lifestyle, I was devastated. While the past few years haven’t been easy, I’ve learned to savor each day as a gift. When I experience a day of intense joint swelling and stiffness, I try to remind myself that it might be followed by several relatively pain free days. I’ve also learned to conduct research about my disease and be open to trying the many available treatment options for this medical condition. Good nutrition, stretching exercises, and certain medications have become my best allies in my battle with inflammatory arthritis. On this blog, I want to provide reassurance to others who have been diagnosed with this condition that life goes on. And, it can be surprisingly wonderful. Enjoy!

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Getting yourself to sit back and relax can be hard to do, especially if you're bored of your normal relaxation tips and techniques, or if your techniques are limited to a certain location (sea shore, yoga classroom, steam room) that you just can't get to right now. But did you know that a whole new world of relaxation is open to you so long as you have internet access and a pair of headphones? Autonomous sensory meridian response (usually referred to simply as ASMR) is a relaxation technique that has been gaining in popularity over the last decade and is easy for everyone to get into. So if you're wondering what ASMR can do for you and your stress level, then here's what you need to know.

It's a Sensation

ASMR, simply explained, is that tingly feeling you can get when someone gently glides their fingernails down your scalp – a sort of static-y buzz that travels down your neck and spine, helping you to feel comfortable and relaxed. It's basically like a massage, but a massage that happens on the inside of your head, rather than outside of it. Autonomous sensory meridian response seems like a term riddled with jargon, but it can be boiled down to being pretty much (to use a slightly crude term) a brain orgasm. With that description, it's easy to see why devotees of ASMR might chase those tingles as far as they can.

It's Becoming More Popular

It used to be that those prone to ASMR got their relaxation from listening to a deeply resonant teacher's voice, having their hair brushed, or other triggers that are now associated with ASMR. Nowadays, there are hundreds upon hundreds of YouTube videos and video makers invested in ASMR, many of whom have hundreds of thousands of likes and subscribers, with scenarios from scalp massages, fake hair cuts, and even fake eye exams, all built around known ASMR triggers.

It's Not For Everyone

Not everyone has those triggers that lead to the ASMR experience – and some might have them, but those 'tingles' that ASMR produces may not be a pleasurable, relaxing experience; for those whose tingles aren't so nice, ASMR videos may give them the same discomfort as hearing nails scrape across a chalkboard. The only way to know for sure is to experiment; typing in 'ASMR' into any video hosting website should give you a plethora of options to choose from, though you'll need a pair of earbuds to really get the sensory experience intended by the makers of the videos. If you find it relaxing, like a lot of people do, then you're found one thing that can help you de-stress no matter where you are.